From the always delicious, always reliable Kalyn’s Kitchen. I added some grilled chicken to this, for a complete meal. Very colorful, too.

Christmas cauliflower with grilled chicken

1 head cauliflower, cut into small, consistent-sized pieces

1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2″ dice

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

3 tablespoons pine nuts

2/3 cup sliced green olives

2 tablespoons capers

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 – 2 grilled boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

Preheat oven to 425F. Put chopped cauliflower and peppers into a plastic bowl and toss with 2 T olive oil, stirring so the vegetables are all lightly coated with oil. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper and stir again. Spread the vegetables out in a single layer on a cookie sheet and roast for 20 minutes.

While the cauliflower and peppers are roasting, slice the olives and measure out the pine nuts and capers. Chop the parsley if using. After 20 minutes, remove cookie sheet from the oven, put the cauliflower and peppers back into the same bowl, and toss with the olives, pine nuts, capers, and parsley (if using.) Spread the mixture on to the cookie sheet again and roast an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the vegetables are starting to brown and the olive pieces are looking slightly cooked. Removed from oven, place in bowl and toss with chicken. Serve hot, with a slice of lemon to squeeze over if desired.

A fabulous chicken casserole; I think I love any food that is called Spanish. Sweet, salty, and tangy work well together. I roasted some baby Yukon potatoes to go along with this, and served it on brown rice.

Spanish chicken casserole, a la Alvaro

3 ounces chopped pancetta

4 pieces of chicken (I used 4 boneless breasts, cut into big chunks)

2 cups chopped onions

1 cup raisins

1 cup stuffed olives, sliced

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

1 28-ounce can peeled whole tomatoes

a bit of garlic

Fry the pancetta, then add the chicken and onions into the pan; cook until golden.

Add the tomato sauce with a teaspoon of salt, and a bit of sugar. Then add the peeled tomatoes, raisins, olives, and garlic.

Stir a few times and then let it cook on a slow fire for about 30 minutes. About 5 minutes before done, add a cup of frozen peas to the sauce. Serve over rice. Makes 4 servings.

Remember green bean casserole growing up? I do – cream of mushroom soup mixed with the beans, and those yummy canned fried onion bits on top. Fast forward to today – here is a more grown-up version. Much healthier in my opinion, and I added some cooked chicken to make it a complete meal. This was fabulous.

Kudos again go to An Edible Mosaic blog for this delicious and healthy Italian pie. We enjoyed this for dinner; the sauce is easy to make, and everything comes together nicely. I made my nondairy substitutions – I used tofu instead of ricotta cheese, and soy parmesan instead of the real thing. Delicioso! Head over to the blog to check out the beautiful photos taken of this dish, too.

Roasted zucchini spaghetti pie

2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper

1/4 pound whole grain (or regular) spaghetti noodles

2 cups tofu

2 eggs

1 egg white

1/4 cup soy parmesan cheese, divided

1 1/2 cups thick marinara sauce (recipe below)

cooking spray

Thick Marinara sauce: (yields ~ 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small carrot, peeled and shredded

1 15-ounce can diced tomato, with liquid

1 1/2 ounce tomato paste

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt

pinch ground black pepper

9″ pie plate

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat the sliced zucchini with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper; arrange the zucchini in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for ~ 18 minutes, flipping halfway through. When it’s done roasting, the zucchini will be golden in spots.

For the marinara sauce, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a small pot with a lid. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, until the onion starts to soften; add the carrot and garlic, and saute another 5 – 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, salt, and pepper. Taste to adjust seasonings. Simmer with lid on for 20 – 30 minutes.

Cook the pasta to al dente according to package instructions. Cool the pasta to room temperature, then add 1 egg, 2 tablespoons soy parmesan, and pinch of pepper; stir to combine.

To the tofu, mix in 1 egg, 1 egg white, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat the pie pan with cooking spray; spread the pasta on the bottom of the pie plate, then spread 1/2 of the tofu mixture on top of the pasta. Arrange the zucchini on top of the tofu, then spread the rest of the tofu mixture on top of the zucchini. Spread the marinara sauce on top of the tofu. Bake the pie for 20 – 30 minutes, until it’s set. Sprinkle the remaining soy parmesan on top and allow to cool slightly before cutting.

What could be better on a cool autumn evening than a little heat in the soup bowl? I twiddled a little with sweet and spicy levels in this delicious soup to achieve a nice balance of flavors. The original recipe called for soba noodles, but I used ramen, as that’s what was handy. This was totally delicious.

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Fabulous dinner on a fall evening. Takes about 2 hours to prepare, but well worth it. The flavors are deep and substantial. I added more carrots than the original recipe called for, but I like eating them – they were saturated and drenched in the cooking juices. Just delicious. It will perfume your home while it cooks.

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 400 degrees F. Trim excess fat from chicken, and season inside and out with salt. Scatter onions, carrots, parsnips, sage, cloves, and cinnamon in the oven-useable pot, sprinkle salt over this, and set the chicken on top of the vegetables. Put the pot on the stove, pour in the stock, beer, and apple cider, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, uncovered, for about 15 minutes on top of the stove. Put the pot in the oven, and roast the chicken for about 30 minutes, basting with the pan juices two or three times. Cover the chicken with a sheet of aluminum foil to prevent overbrowning, and roast another 30 minutes.

Remove the foil, and roast another 20 – 30 minutes, basting frequently, until the chicken and vegetables are cooked through and tender. Remove the chicken to a warm platter, and surround with the vegetables. Bring the pan juices to a boil on top of the stove, and cook until reduced by half.

Carve the chicken at the table, and spoon some of the pan juices on top. Makes 3 – 4 servings.

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Got zero tolerance for dairy products? I know I do. So let's enjoy our favorite dishes here, and some new ones too, that have absolutely zero dairy ingredients inside but 100% goodness and great taste.

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